Climate disasters to leave 150 million in humanitarian need by 2030: Red Cross

More frequent and intense climate-related disasters including floods, storms and bushfires are forecast to leave 150 million people in need of humanitarian aid each year by the end of next decade and cost up to $29 billion annually.

A new report by the International Federation of Red Cross and leading climate economists says the effects of climate change pose a growing humanitarian threat.

Aid will cost more in a warmer world.Credit:Dave Hunt

It warns of more frequent, unpredictable and destructive extreme weather events which require an unprecedented level of emergency aid. At the same time the broader economic impacts of climate change, especially on agricultural production, will reduce incomes and leave communities more vulnerable to shocks and reliant on international assistance.

“Climate change is a humanitarian problem,” the report says.

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Modelling reviewed by World Bank economists shows that by 2050, 200 million people every year will need humanitarian aid as a result of climate-related disasters and the socioeconomic impact of climate change. That's nearly twice the 108 million people each year that now need international assistance because of floods, storms, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires.

Under the most pessimistic modelling the price tag for responding to weather-related humanitarian emergencies will balloon to $29.5 billion per year by 2030.

The report warns the findings are "likely to be underestimates".

But effective investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation would greatly reduce the negative impacts, especially when priority is given to improving the resilience of the most vulnerable communities.

"While there is a clear cost of doing nothing, there is also a chance to do something," the report said.

With “determined and ambitious” action the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of climate-related disasters could be limited to 68 million a year by 2030, and even drop to 10 million by 2050. That would be a decrease of 90 per cent compared with today.

"Stronger buildings, more resilient infrastructure, and dedicated infrastructure like dikes and pumping stations can protect people and economies and reduce the likelihood of a climate hazardbecoming a climate disaster,” the report says.

Improved early warning mechanisms and more sophisticated disaster response and rehabilitation systems are also needed to reduce the humanitarian and economic toll of climate change.

In the longer-term some communities may have to relocate entirely as sea levels rise or other climatic changes makes their locations uninhabitable.

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Chief executive of Australian Red Cross, Judy Slatyer, said extreme weather events in Australia are becoming more frequent, intensive and interconnected.

“In Australia there have been steadily growing investments in preparing for extreme weather events, yet there is much more needed to reduce the human impact of climate-related disasters,” she said.

Ms Slatyer also said Australia has an important role to play in reducing the impact of climate-related disasters in our region and globally.

A spate of major emergencies in the past five years has put the international humanitarian system under increased pressure including the Syria and Rohingya refugee crises, outbreaks of the Ebola virus, chronic drought in the Horn of Africa region and a succession of super-storms.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says international humanitarian needs reached an “unprecedented scale” last year.

The separate UN Asia-Pacific disaster report 2019 released last month showed the average number of climate-related disaster events per decade in Australia's region has more than doubled over the past 50 years.

“The region is not sufficiently prepared for this climate reality,” the report said.